Academic Programs

The Center for Humanitarian Health supports the following academic degree and non-degree programs for students at the Johns Hopkins University, in particular (though not limited to) the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The MPH concentration in Health in Crisis and Humanitarian Assistance is provided for full-time and part-time MPH students and focuses on health of populations in crisis, internationally and domestically. These include refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), populations affected by natural and human-made disasters, survivors of human rights abuse, and survivors of human trafficking. The coursework will focus on why populations become vulnerable and the health issues they face. Emphasis will be on gaining expertise in methods to assess needs and provide assistance to displaced populations and other vulnerable groups. Students will be able to:

The Certificate in Humanitarian Assistance is open to masters and doctoral students enrolled in a degree program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health who are interested in working to improve the health of displaced populations in the future. Students will be able to:

The Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) course is offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in joint collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. The course was founded based on the need for humanitarian workers to acquire a holistic understanding of the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and others affected by natural disasters and conflict in order more effectively manage health crises in emergency settings. The goal of HELP is to create an understanding the of the public health needs of populations in disaster and conflict situations.This includes the background, underlying causes, and the dynamics that cause populations to be vulnerable in emergencies. Topics covered during the course include disaster management, food security and nutrition, environmental health, health and surveillance systems, humanitarian ethics, human rights and human security, conflict origins, and security for aid workers.

HELP includes on-site lectures with the sector’s leading practitioners and academics.Through in-class assignments and group exercises, students gain important skills necessary for humanitarian response, including skills in epidemiological methods and management of health emergencies.The HELP course is typically offered twice per year, over two weeks in January and three weeks in July. The course is held at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland